Salisbury store owner sentenced on drug charges

Jones Craft proprietor gets 6 months active

Jan. 9, 2014

Caleb Jones

Written by

Vanessa Junkin

Staff Writer

SALISBURY — The owner of the Jones Craft International Levi’s store on South Salisbury Boulevard was sentenced Thursday on the two counts he entered Alford pleas to last month.

Caleb Jones, 65, of Salisbury was sentenced to six months on a charge of maintaining a common nuisance property, and he was sentenced to a year of suspended time on a possession of marijuana charge. He was also fined $1,000.

As long as it’s approved at the detention center, Jones — who has no criminal history — will be eligible for work release, and he will then be on a year of supervised probation.

With an Alford plea, a defendant takes the benefit of a guilty plea without admitting guilt. As part of the plea agreement, Jones also agreed to forfeit $903, firearms, ammunition, magazines and cellphones.

Search warrants were served April 18 and items including marijuana were located at Jones’ Tony Tank Lane home, Wicomico County Senior Assistant State’s Attorney Patrizia Coletta said in the statement of facts in December. Heroin was found at the Jones Craft International store, she said.

The remaining charges Jones faced were dismissed last month.

Coletta said Jones’ sentencing guidelines on the common nuisance charge ranged from six months to three years of active time.

Defense attorney Andrew MacDonald said Jones has run his business since 1977 and has lived in his home for 30 years. If he were not able to work, the business would likely go under, MacDonald said.

“He has always lived an exemplary life,” said MacDonald, who described Jones as “unusually courteous.”

Co-defendant and Jones’ girlfriend Kristen Fitzgerald, 23, of Parsonsburg, who has entered Alford pleas to possession of marijuana and possession with intent to distribute narcotics, spoke at the hearing. She was emotional as she blamed herself and said she kept her heroin use from Jones.

“He doesn’t deserve this, and it’s because of me,” said Fitzgerald, who hasn’t yet been sentenced.

Jones spoke for longer than the average defendant, saying he’s never been involved with drugs. He said he’s sorry he got caught up in this situation.